It has been long overdue, that review of Mark Winston’s book Bee Time. I started in the gloriously long summer before the honey harvest was over and read it while sitting in a beach chair at a remote Okanagan Lake cabin when I could savour the flavour of his writing without distraction. The review stalled during the […]

There’s been another rash of bee deaths in Ontario, where commercial beekeepers are on the ropes with losses of upwards of 85 per cent. The presence of neonicotinoid pesticides in dead bees collected from last year’s die-off triggered both a review by Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency and a more recent bee deaths investigation committee […]

Further to my post earlier this week that Canada appears unmoved by the European Commission’s ban on three neonicotinoid pesticides, I received a note from Gerry McKee, the chairman of the Canadian Honey Council drawing attention to the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association’s stance on the issue. The OBA is asking the Ontario government to “reassess the […]

Canada has no plans right now to follow the European Commission’s decision to ban a class of pesticides it believes is responsible for the deaths of many honey bees. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency said it already started a comprehensive review of three pesticides in the neonicotinoid class following last year’s accidental poisonings of […]

Beekeepers and scientists in Canada and the United States are closely watching the European Union’s decision Monday to temporarily ban the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides being blamed for a decline in bee populations. On Monday 15 of 27 member states in the EU voted for a two-year restriction on the sale and use of […]

There’s a growing call in the United Kingdom for political leaders to ban neonicotinoid-based pesticides that are being blamed for killing bees. Meanwhile, in Canada, we’re continuing to study just how bad it can get. This week the all-party Environmental Audit Committee of the British Parliament came out swinging, making bee deaths as a result […]

Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency has quietly issued new rules for the use of neonicotinoid insecticides blamed for an unusual die-off of bees in Ontario in 2012. The consumer product safety bulletin, issued Feb. 4 on Health Canada’s site but apparently nowhere else, advises farmers and users of seeds coated with neonicotinoids to use more caution, […]

Two scientific studies of the effect of neonicotinoid insecticides on honey bees and native bumblebees are adding more weight to the belief that these systemic chemicals are greatly responsible for the decline in worldwide bee health. Beekeepers who are already tuned in to the understanding that pesticide residues found in wax foundation affect hive health […]

About . . .

Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd and its subsidiary, Swan Valley Honey Ltd., are known for their sustainable beekeeping practices and a growing list of terroir-based niche honeys.
Based in the verdant Creston Valley in B.C.'s Central Kootenay region, we produce award-winning honeys derived from a vast array of forages, including alfalfa, dutch clover, snowberry, thistle, wild fruits, fireweed, sweet clover and more. The land has provided our Swan Valley branded-honey a gentle, delectable, sweetness sought after throughout the province. We supply over 30 retail locations in B.C.
We are committed to working with farmers who respect the land they use and the bees we provide, and we seek out strong and beneficial relationships. We are interested in the science and breeding of bees, the production of honey and hive products, and trying to resolve the challenges bees and their keepers around the world face.